The entire community was on lockdown. I crawled through the small hole in the fence that me and some local kids cut out two nights prior. My hands sunk into the mush of green and brown mud as I slithered like a snake beneath the sharp metal prongs. The muck released an odor that tortured my sense of smell. Fumes from the Gatherers mixed with human decay infected the soil. A smell I had become familiar with ever since earth had begun to die.
Before I stood, the ground rumbled, forcing me back onto my knees and hands. Lying low on my stomach, I waited as three Reconnoiterers zoomed by without noticing me, almost splashing a puddle of mud into my mouth. I pinched my lips into a fine line, allowing my breath to settle inside my throat. Soon as they proceeded on by, I exhaled, pushing myself up onto my feet. The flashing lights of the police force disappeared into the foggy distance.
You better be there Chase, my words blazed through my mind.
I adjusted the hood of my jacket over my head, gazed around, and started to run. So long the Recons didn’t show up, I would be fine. All I needed was five minutes to get there. I had timed the distance and my running speed the night before. But that was in the dark. Going out in the daylight was a risk, one I was willing to take.
Five minutes, Mila, I reminded myself.
Flashing red lights were ahead, piercing through the cloud of fog.
I dove off the side of the road and into the ditch. My fingers disappeared beneath the mud, engulfed inside a hard object. I inhaled, my breath hitched inside my throat. I tried not to cry out in panic while another Recon drove by, patrolling ahead of a Gatherer. They were going into the community. The massive machine built of steel, settled on twelve gigantic wheels, slowly thundered past me, its sheet plated walls reflecting the Recon’s flashing lights. When the vehicle’s disappeared, I looked down, noticing a human skull surfaced. I pulled my hand free, skittering back onto my feet. With haste, I jumped back onto the road and started to run, never once looking back.
“This is harder… than I thought… it would be,” I muttered between breaths.
Running had come easy to me before the Change happened, when unknown elements seeped from the core of the planet. I had been the fastest girl in my school. Almost matching Chase’s time, but no one, not even I could beat him.
A hand grabbed my wrist, yanking me off the road to hide behind the trunk of a dead tree.
“Chase,” I gasped. “You scared me!”
He flashed his million dollar smile. “You’re too fast, I had to act quickly.” His smile dropped when he noticed me shaking uncontrollably. “What happened?”
“A Gatherer,” I exhaled, trying to catch my breath, “and a skull.”
Chase’s eyes widened. “That’s it?” he teased.
I slapped his arm, and then wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him in for a kiss. It was nice, our cool lips against one another. Pulling away from our embrace, I examined him closely. I could never get enough of his handsome face. He had that surfer boy look, the sandy blond hair set in waves, tickling the lobes of his ears and nape of his neck. Cerulean eyes, the color of the prettiest ocean water I’d only remembered from pictures from the past.
“Have you ever touched a human skull before?” I asked him, all joking aside. “The Gatherer was headed to our community. They were collecting.”
“More deaths…”
I nodded. “I can’t help but think of the kids at my foster home, Chase. Even if I hated it there, the others were left behind.”
The Gatherers came more frequently. It was the cremator on wheels. A larger, scarier version of a dump truck, only they weren’t meant for trash, but burning bodies. I knew the smell of burning hair, flesh, and bone all too well.
“I’m so sorry,” Chase said to me, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, his fingertips brushing against my cheekbone. Again, I got lost in his eyes, his touch.
“Why do you do that?” he asked, pinching the tip of my nose. I knew he was trying to lighten the mood.
“Do what?”
“Sometimes you get lost in thought.”
“Oh...” I didn’t want to tell him that when I was lost in thought, that I had been soaking in his delicious appearance. “I’m just thinking about our future, that’s all.”
“Speaking of that…” His voice trailed off as he pointed into the distance.
A dark figure ran through the fog, closing the gap between us. When they approached, they dropped their hood. Chase was a genius! He got someone from Steel City to meet us.
Noticing my shocked expression, Chase said, “Didn’t think I’d do it, did you?”
I was speechless. Soon, I’d run away with my first love.
The man crouched low to the ground with us. He looked both ways, checking for Recons. His hand fidgeted inside his coat pocket. I just watched, waiting. Hurry! I yelled inside my impatient thoughts.
“Here,” the man said, handing me an identification card.
I held it close to my face, examining every letter, number, and corner. “She looks like me.”
The man scoffed. “That’s the idea, kid.” He handed Chase’s identification card, too.
“Good work, man,” Chase said. He too fidgeted inside his pocket, pulling out jewelry. I noticed right away his mother's heirloom he’d shown me a couple years ago.
I raised my hand to my mouth. “Chase…”
He stared at me for a second, contemplating. “You’re right. She would want you to have it, Mila.” That moment, he tucked the necklace back into his pocket, and pulled out an expensive watch with diamonds.
The man shoved the wristwatch into his coat pocket, nodded, and mumbled something I didn’t quite catch. I held Chase’s hand and watched as the figure slipped back into the fog. Finally, we had our escape. It was our chance to participate in the Draw, a chance at new life on the savior planet Juno.
“Here,” said Chase, turning me around. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling his mother’s necklace toward my neck, connecting the clasps. The coolness of the silver chain pressed against my skin.
I turned around, gazing up at him with adoration. “It should be kept in your family…”
“You’re my family now, Mila.” He kissed my forehead, quickly changing the subject. “Want to go to our spot?”
I nodded. He didn’t need to ask. I’d follow him anywhere.
We ran through the dead forest. No longer did the trees canopy the surface. Everything was exposed and fragile. It had begun six years ago. Now, in 2134, all vegetation was dead or dying, completely. Deep in the forest was our special spot that no one had discovered, the only tree in our area that still held onto life, refusing to die off.
I brushed my fingertips over the bark. “She’s still beautiful.”
Chase leaned his cheek against the trunk of the tree, smiling with his eyes shut. I watched him in awe. Does he hold me the same way? Of course he did. We’re both here, struggling to live among all the decay, just like the tree.
He blinked his eyes open, catching my stare. “We’re going to have a lot of these trees when we get to Juno. I will hug every last one of them, too!”
I laughed, moving toward him. “That’s a lot of trees, Mr. Taylor.”
“Oh is that right, future Mrs. Taylor,” he whispered into my ear.
We’re both eighteen, legal on earth; surely we’d be legal on Juno?
My hand slid into the pocket of his pant leg. His eyes widened at my touch, my cheeks felt molten. I hadn’t meant to touch him so intimately, but I wanted to examine his identification card. He blushed, too. It was adorable.
Pulling out his card, I read the name out loud, “Jaxon Blair.”
“Mr. and Mrs. Blair,” he added with a quick smile.
I stood on my tip toes and kissed his lips tenderly. “It’s perfect.”
We’d have new names and a new life. I wouldn’t have to live in a home without love. Chase wouldn’t have to face the pain that remained in his home from losing his mother prematurely. There wouldn’t be anyone to tell us how to live our lives.
Chase clapped his hands together. “You ready?” He pulled me into him, snuggling his chin between my shoulder and neck, lifting me slightly off the ground.
“It’s now or never,” I exhaled.
I ran behind Chase back through the forest and out onto the road. We stood and waited. It didn’t take long before flashing lights emerged from the fog again. Chase stood in front of me, waving his arms in the air to catch the Recon's attention.
The enforcement vehicle had become visible. Its white, sleek metal was long and thin. Only one man could fit inside the oval framework. One wheel lifted the back end high off the ground, while the smaller wheel in front was for turning.
I didn’t care for the cross breed machine, even if it was at one time meant to be eco-friendly. But it had only become a nuisance. They controlled our lives. Going here or there wasn’t that simple. There were rules and regulations.
Imprisonment, I pushed this bitter thought away.
“Hey!” Chase continued to attract attention. The Recon pulled up to him, I pushed around Chase to show myself.
The door rose up into the air, exposing a man in a white leather suit with a helmet. His translucent mask covering his face stayed closed. He scowled at both of us, holding out his hand.
“Identification,” he demanded.
Immediately, I pulled out my card, gripping it tight. I tried to stop my hand from shaking, but it was near impossible. This has to work, I thought.
The Recon checked my I.D. He stared at it, and then back up at me. He did this three times. It felt like my heart was going to burst from my chest. I inhaled and exhaled deeply, waiting on his response.
“Steel City?” he questioned, eyeing me, again.
I nodded.
“You’re covered in mud,” he pointed out. I didn’t answer, so he added, “Why are you on the outskirts? This community is barricaded.”
Chase spoke, “We got lost on our run. She slipped and fell in the mud because the fog is so thick today. We’re truly sorry, Officer.”
I love him, I squealed inside my head.
The Recon examined Chase next. “I will need to see your I.D.” He looked it over in less time than he had mine. “I’m going to call for a minicab. Stay put.”
I led Chase a few feet away from the Recon. “It worked!”
“Shhh, don’t get too excited. We haven’t got to the city yet.”
He was right. We weren’t out of the clear until stepping foot into the city. But we had heard almost all good things about it, from the supplies, to the housing, and of course the Draw.
The Draw…
Chase grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the approaching minicab. The Recon waved us off and sped away. Relief washed over me. It was really happening. We would have our chance.
The driver pulled to the side of the road, got out and opened the door for us. That’s how the High-status people were treated. I nodded to him and stepped inside, snuggling against the warm seat. Chase sat next to me, covering his hand on top of mine.
The driver was tall and lanky. His head nearly hit the roof of the minicab as he sat back behind the wheel. He looked in the rearview mirror at us, but never let a word escape his lips the entire ride to Steel City.
A few miles later the city came into view. Tall buildings lifted from the low fog, scaling high into the air. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The city had transformed so much since the Change. Sheet metal covered the sides of homes and buildings. They believed it kept out the unknown elements, stopping anyone from becoming a carrier.
I noticed there weren’t a lot of people roaming the city. “Where is everyone?”
I suspected a forced curfew.
The minicab driver finally spoke for the first time, “Those nasty bottom-feeders are at it again. Darn gangsters won’t give up and just leave!”
“What the heck is a bottom-feeder?” Chase asked, leaning toward the passenger seat.
He glanced back at us. “Aren’t you from the city?”
“Yes,” we simultaneously replied. I looked at Chase apologetically.
“We’re just messing around,” I chuckled nervously.
The driver grunted. “We’re too?”
“Drop us off near the Draw,” said Chase.
Chase and I sat back, holding onto each other’s hand tightly as we listened to the driver's mocking laughter the rest of the way there.
“Yeah, good luck with that one,” he said, putting the vehicle in park.
I looked into Chase’s eyes, searching for an answer. He blinked, his beautiful lashes brushing against his skin. I waited, still watching with meticulousness. Then it was there, within seconds, I saw hope in his eyes. That’s all I needed to keep moving forward, one step at a time.